Determined to pursue big fights and willing to move up to heavyweight (up to 120,2kg), Alex Poatan surprised many fans by not only challenging Jon Jones to a duel, but also by ignoring a title shot against champion Tom Aspinall . In a statement after his victory at UFC 320, the Brazilian focused solely on the legend of the sport.
When explaining what motivated him to put all his chips on a meeting with Jones, Poatan highlighted the positive side of the potential confrontation against the former champion of the category.
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“I’ve always talked about this fight, about fighting at heavyweight… I would want to, then I wouldn’t. But now, at 38 years old, I’m thinking about my career, and I think this is the fight that needs to happen. Sometimes, even thinking about what Jon Jones said in an interview the other day, I’m on the same page as him. We have big names; if I lose, if he loses, nobody loses,” Poatan declared in an interview with Connect Cast.
Asked if he would accept being inactive until June, should the fight against Jones at UFC White House be confirmed , Poatan did not hesitate to say yes.
"I would stay. I think it would be a good time to recover. Since I lost the fight to Ankalaev, I've had a lot of injuries," he concluded.
So far, Dana White has avoided expressing any interest in holding a meeting between the fighters at the White House for the first time. In an interview at the UFC 320 press conference, the president expressed doubts about what would be best for the company, but assured that if Poatan is close to retirement, he would be happy to consider a weight change.
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